Here's Why the YNW Melly Double Murder Retrial Has Been on Hold

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YNW Melly has been locked up for 1,910 days fighting a double murder that occurred in 2018. After his trial was declared a mistrial last July, he is set to be retried for the crimes again. However, that too has turned into a waiting game due to a number of factors.

YNW Melly Retrial Postponed

After avoiding conviction in his first trial, where the rapper was charged with the 2018 murders of his friends Christopher "YNW Juvy" Thomas and Anthony "YNW Sakchaser" Williams, the prosecution in the case had a choice to let the rapper go free or run it back in court. They chose the latter. After Melly replaced one of his former defense attorneys, David A. Howard, with Jamie Benjamin, the date for the retrial was initially set for Oct. 2, 2023, and later pushed back a week to Oct. 9, 2023.

However, since then, the case has gotten more complicated. The week the retrial was set to begin, Melly and his codefendant YNW Bortlen were both hit with additional charges of witness tampering, with the authorities accusing the rappers of conspiring to prevent Melly's former girlfriend Mariah Hamilton from testifying in the first trial.

In December of 2023, the trial was pushed back again at the request of Melly's defense team who asked for the extension so they could depose over a dozen new witnesses. The same month, the State chose to appeal a Dec. 20, 2023 ruling made by Broward County Circuit Judge John Murphy III that threw out evidence prosecutors have said helps prove the rapper's guilt including Demons’ phone records, emails and social media posts. Prosecutors have now turned to the Fourth District Court of Appeal in West Palm Beach, Fla. seeking to reverse Murphy’s ruling.

YNW Melly Relocated

Last month, YNW Melly was relocated from the Broward County Jail to the Paul Rein Detention Facility in Pompano Beach, Fla. as he prepares for his retrial. This is the first time he has been moved since he was arrested on Feb. 13, 2019. He could be facing fatal consequences if found guilty, as this is a death penalty case.

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